“I’m an open book and I think I can turn this place around,” Brahm said. “And it needs work. This is our opportunity. This is it. We have to change this culture, all the way.”

But insiders say the government-run medical complex described as “Candyland” for opioid prescription practices that left veterans drugged out of their minds is a long way from changed

An employee at the VA facility tells Wisconsin Watchdog that while he has seen some areas of improvement, the “culture of fear” described in a Senate committee report last year in many ways remains unchanged.

“(Brahm) keeps saying she is not going to tolerate bullying and retaliation, but I received a phone call today from a person getting bullied by a manager,” the staffer said.

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